Ascendancy
Ascendancy is the process in which a mortal is elevated to the status of an immortal by either of the Mir or any other deity who chooses to pass down a large portion of its power to a mortal. Originally, the idea was inspired by Diat, who passed down his mantle to a mortal named Hephaestus. While Hephaestus's power was not quite as great as Diat's, it was enough to allow him to challenge other Titans or Gods and hold his own against them. Black and White Mir saw this and began adapting the powers to suit their needs and better serve their goals. White Mir desired mortals that could better serve humanity and Black Mir desired to ascend mortals who could better serve his own ends. It is speculated that the power of Ascendancy could be used to kill even the Gods themselves, which is why most Gods are wary about the idea of mortals possessing such power. Many of them try to use ascendants to their own ends or stand in direct opposition of the idea of ascendants. Light Ascendance Aether Asendancy is considered a 'normal' Ascedancy. The ascended mortal becomes immortal, unaging, and gains unimaginable power. This does not, however, mean that they are unkillable, although they are extremely difficult to extinguish. Most can heal themselves from just about any injury, although some wounds can prove to be completely fatal. They do still require food and water to survive like normal mortals, although they may not need to breathe and are generally resistant to most forms of energy-based attack (depending on aspect). Aether Ascendants generally take up a title of the aspect they represent. Most Aether Ascendants either have good intentions or have done great things. However, not all who do either of these things ascend. Aether Ascendance can be passed down to a mortal at the cost of said Ascedant's power. This allows the Ascendants to select those who may be worthy of their power if they suffer an injury, die, or decide to step down from their position. Physical Effects An Aether Ascendant gains bright, light wings in the color of whatever element they primarily use. Their eyes and markings also typically radiate with the same light. In the case of the Akyr, their tails are engulfed in light as well. Dark Ascendance Dark Ascendancy is considered an abomination to the people of Aksyos and drastically differs from Aether Ascedance. The Dark Ascendants are unyielding and undying aberrations who do nothing but destroy or damn everything in their path. Immortal, all-powerful, and almost always vehemently evil, they turn practically into the personification of their own mortal follies. They seem to be able to recover from even the greatest injury and killing one has proved to be a nearly impossible task. Dark Ascendants have almost always suffered great trauma or been exceptionally sinful individuals, although only those whose potential exceeds the others are elevated to statuses of power. Unlike Aether Ascendants, Dark Ascendants can not transfer their power to another individual in order to ascend them. They can corrupt both the living and dead by trapping their souls in vial-like crystalline vessels called 'Soul Prisms'. Those with exceptional power reach a point of 'pseudo-ascendancy', but all those who are corrupted in this way are completely under the thrall of their Dark Ascendant masters. When influenced, they gain some of the benefits of ascendancy such as not needing to eat, drink, or sleep and have a sort of 'pseudo-immortality', although their minds are trapped in a dreamlike state where they experience blissful sensations and are free from any negativity or pain. Some individuals can resist the control of their master, but it is unknown how. Shattering the prison releases the trapped spirit and returns the individual to normal (as long as their body is still alive or unoccupied by another soul), but often the enthralled person is given basic aggressive commands to defend the prism at all costs. If the thrall is killed, death is, unfortunately, not reversible. However, the soul must be freed for the person to properly pass on into the afterlife. Dark Ascendants also have the unique ability to transfer their spirit into another living body. However, this can only be done by close proximity to a vessel, by another ascendant, or by Mir itself and the vessel must be unoccupied by another soul. The new body inherits the powers of the Dark Ascendant. Mir has no direct control over his Dark Ascendants, but they seem to be willing to do his work regardless. Physical Effects Dark Ascendants tend to mutate in strange ways. Most will retain some semblance of their mortal form, and much like their Light counterparts they can swap between forms at will. Sometimes they will grow crystalline structures from their bodies while in 'Ascendant Mode'. Their bodies, wings, or tails are alight in a bright purple, smokeless flame. In their ascendant forms, their mouth twists and transforms into a jagged smile, reminiscent of a Jack-O-Lantern. They often speak telepathically.